NYC Trip Part 6- Central Park

 It's amazing to see this beautiful, spacious park

smack-dab in the middle of NYC.

  

 We enjoyed a lovely walk after lunch.

NYC Trip Part 5- Lunch

Oh my goodness...

huge crepes filled with roasted chicken, fresh veggies

 and an incredible pesto sauce

with ice cold apple juice to drink.

It doesn't get much better than that!

Until dessert!

Incredible banana pudding cake

in a little round jug,

(forgot to take a picture)

eaten at this lovely bakery surrounded

with delightful things to look at.

Fun, 

fun,

fun!

Easter

How can I begin to understand the perfect love of my Savior?  

How can I come to appreciate His selfless service and atoning sacrifice 

with my finite 

and very mortal mind?  

The only possible way I see is to emulate Him;

 to try in my small way to do what I know He did, 

to serve with humility,

 to give up some of what is mine and offer it to others,

to live life with joy and gratitude,

walking in faith and hope.

Maybe then I will feel just a little of what He feels.

Maybe then I will begin to understand.

NYC Trip Part 4- High Line

The High Line is an example of the magnificent creativity
that is so prevalent in this city.

For years a section of the former elevated
New York Central Railroad Line
stood unused and in disrepair.
The city's desire to demolish it was countered by those who saw in it
 a potential opportunity to preserve history and raise property value
by making it into a promenade.
Thus came about this marvelous pedestrian trail.

Even in the late winter weather it was bustling with sight seers.
The designers maintained the feeling of the railroad and in many places
the old rails are still visible along the sides.
Another fun part of the trail is all the great views of the city
one can enjoy along the way.

Here is a small ice skating rink seen from the path above.

There are many chairs, benches and recliners that allow pedestrians a moment of relaxation.

The landscape designers used all the native trees
 and many of the grasses and plants  

that had seeded themselves around the original track line.

Look closely and find a little dove resting by the rail.

Even little crocus are appearing through the gravel.

I loved how the rails seems to rise right up into the benches.

So cool!!

Abruptly the walkway ends and the old railroad line continues.

I got a kick out of this poster in a window we passed.

Obviously there are a few drawbacks to having your home

sitting next to a highly trafficked walkway.

NYC Trip Part 3- Color and Contrasts

The city is truly a feast for the senses.

NYC Trip Part 2- Transportation

We spent a good part of the day on subways

making our way from one thing to the next.

This is quite an experience

especially for those unaccustomed to all the stops,

the different streets, trains and directions.

Luckily we were with some very experienced riders

and we just followed along behind. 

We also spent a great deal of time walking.

We estimated that we had covered around 10 miles by the end of the day.

Wow!

New York Trip Part 1- Ground Zero

We spent a remarkable day in New York City

to celebrate one of my dear friend's birthdays.

She absolutely loves NYC!

She is right too, it is an amazing place

just humming with energy, creativity, productivity

and all kinds of wonderful people!

We began our day at Ground Zero in the heart of the city.

It is such a emotional place.

You begin by walking past the Fireman's Wall

which is a long raised plaque depicting 

those brave men and women

who were first to arrive on that terrible day.

It actually is the wall of the fire station itself

so we got to walk past the trucks that were part of the First Response Team.

Then after careful screening we were allowed into the area 

where the Memorials are,

and where all the construction is going on to build the new towers.

The actual footprints of the twin towers are now two endless waterfalls.

The water leaves the sides in individual streams and flows

down the walls and into a "bottomless" hole.

The families of the victims had a great deal of influence
 upon the design of the memorial.
For instance the only names on the grounds
are the names of those who perished that day.
 Even those who were part of the rescue
or paid for the memorial's construction
are not acknowledged anywhere.
All the victim's names are etched on the horizontal panels
 on the walls of the memorial.

It's a very, very haunting place to me, and even more so
 becasue it felt like watching the towers and all the people falling down
over and over again,
no stop to their suffering, almost an endless flow of despair,
all disappearing into oblivion.
It was beautiful but extremely sad.
If this is what the families hoped for, they achieved it.

There are five new towers under construction

the tallest is 1,776 feet high and reflects 

the Washington Monument in its angles,

all very symbolic and quite amazing.

This tree is called "The Survival Tree" for very good reasons.

They found it all crushed on one side by debris from the towers,

 but still alive.

It had two saplings which they moved, one to Washington DC 

and another in some safe place in case anything should happen to this guy.

It has been carefully moved and placed between the two memorials.

Here it is again, with one of the new towers rising behind it.

Ground Zero is a sobering, sad, memorial to tragic destruction

and meaningless death;

A terrible part of our world's history.

There was a great feeling of reverence everywhere.

As it should be.

Our children's world will never know what it felt like

 before the attack,

when we thought we were safe

 and people believed in one another a little more.